 At
this point I have the painting completely covered with paint. I like to
remove all the white canvas because I find it is distracting and makes
it hard for me to judge values. Now is the time that I start refining the
painting. Working from the top down, I go back over the blocked in areas
with combinations of the same colors that I have been using along with
the interjection of new colors and values. I drop down in brush size from
my original 1 inch brushes to 1/2 inch sizes. I indicate my foreground
primarily so that I don't spend time working on areas that will eventually
get covered up by trees or rocks. I place the main trees where I want them
based on their design influence on the rest of the painting.  This
stage of the painting is where it really feels like it slows down. Things
move so quickly in the earlier stages that it is easy for me to get impatient
now. Generally, I will spend a couple of days refining and finishing the
effects in the background. I also like to spend time studying the painting
in order to solidify exactly how I want the painting to look. I want my
paintings to be full of depth, so I will play with light effects and atmospheric
conditions until I think I have them just right. When I begin working on
the foreground I again follow some of the same procedures. First, I use
a base dark to get a reaction with the other parts of the painting. Then
I come back and work a middle tone into the vegetation and finally work
highlights on top of that. |
